Optical and laser damage threshold studies on 1, 3, 5-triphenylbenzene scintillator crystal grown by Sankaranarayanan-Ramasamy (SR) technique.

Unidirectional (<200> plane) 1, 3, 5-triphenylbenzene (3PB) single crystal 150 mm long and 25 mm diameter was grown by SR technique. The grown crystal was subjected to UV–vis-NIR spectral analysis determine linear optical properties over the range of 200–1100 nm. The relevant optical parameters such as transmittance, absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient, band gap energy, reflectance, and refractive index were determined which reveal the suitability of crystal to couple with a photomultiplier tube or other light sensor. The wide band gap energy 3.65 eV of the 3PB crystal shows significant transmittance in the Vis and NIR region. The refractive index of the crystal is determined to be constant above 350 nm, and it confirms the required parameter to set high light yield. The temperature dependence refractive index was measured in the range of 30–70 °C, it illustrates the faster propagation light in the crystal. Third order nonlinear optical parameters of the grown crystal were estimated by Z-scan technique. It showed that the low absorption coefficient and negative refractive index. The second order hyperpolarizability (γ) of 3PB molecule was found to be 8.6411 × 10 −34 esu. The obtained all results in the present work which makes the 3PB crystal promising candidate for optical power limits, optical switching and other nonlinear optical applications. The Laser Damage Threshold (LDT) was determined to be 2.1612 GW/cm 2 and it confirms the suitability of crystal for device fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]